PHILATELY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2814, 19 February 1908, Page 58

PHILATELY.

Bt Pelurjs.

j Pleasant Prospects. — The season that we I are now hdil-ng affords every indication ; that it will piove to me one of the best philatelic feeling. There i 6 every warrant , for the asseition that stamp aidor burn-s ' brightly throughout this country, or, for that matter, the world. There is a con- ' stantly broadening spirit in a collecting sense that has a tendency^ to make philatelic existence the more agreeable. Personal interest's in the hobby seem to have been united for the common good, and the motives of these collectors who exercise an individuality, if not eccentricity, in collecting method are not impugned. There is every disposition to place a fair construction on the preferences of philatelists who collect on unusual lines, and the friendliness that prevails in all the departments of philately makes all philatelic life the more enjoyable. I Mons. Arthur Ma-ury (Paris) has been for ' some yeai6 past endeavouring to find a copy of the Letters Patent granted by Loui6 XIV of France for the establishment of the local post of de Villayer, in connection with which were issued those very interesting forerunner; of the postage stamp, the de Villayer " Billets de Post Paje" of 1653. He has at length succeeded in securing a copy of the document, and it is given in full in the Monthly Journal, casting much light on the postal needs and methods of the seventeenth century—but not, unfortunately, making any I clearer the vexed question as to the exact nature of these "Postage Paid Tickets," none of which have survived to modern time.=. ! I High Values. — Every now and then in- • quiry is made by readers whether there is 1 really any legitimate need for a sdol 6tamp in U.S.A., and answers a-re dutifully re- ', turned specifying instances where the need ' of a stamp of this denomination is impera- .' tive. In this connection the following item that appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal may be a rather astounding revelation of the dependence that is placed upon the United States mail and of the enormous postage bills that arc a consequence: — "The steamship Pennsylvania, , which arrived at Seattle July 4. from Nome ' and St. Michael, brought about 1,000, 000d0l ;in gokl forwarded by mail. The gold was ' put up in sealed tin cans which were enclosed in ordina-ry United States mail bag 6. It is not unusual for gold coin to be sent from San Francisco to New York by registered mail, but shipments of gold bullion by mail from Alaska to Seattle were made for the first time this year." The 6tamp collector may let hie imagination run riot as to the amount of postage required on shipments of this kind, as 'it is taken for I granted that the postal charges were paid by postage stamps. A Matter of Ink. — An anti-surcharge ) partisan submits a " horrible example " of overprinting in the case of the Fiji Islands. His figures show that oufside of the nine Fiji Times Express stamps there are but 14 specimens unsurcharged with a catalogue value of £3, while there are 36 surcharges cataloguing at £70. The Fiji stamp surcharge is the exception, although not a " rare " one. Once again Bavaria, through the mouths of her responsible ministers, has aflnmed I her intention not to abandon her separate issues of postage stamps. Mo;e pon-fi to Bavaria's elbow ! This is one of tho abso- ! lutely clean countries from a philatelist's point of view — no gumpaps, no speculative provisionals, only ju6t necessary businesslike issues. At the headquarters of the U.P.U. at Berne, Switzerland, a postal museum is. in progress of formation, with a stamp collection as part of it. By-and-bye there will be hardly one government left on the earth that has not its stamp collection. j Again. — An editorial writer in a newspaper of standing says that again St. Croix j and St. Thomas seem destined to be ab- | sorbed by the United States. The disconj tent at present in the Danish West Indies , is so grave among all olasses that they feel j keenly the necessity for a governmental I change, and it is expected that the United ' States will be petitioned to acquire the islands. Denmark is represented as being unable or unwilling to encourage the material side of its colonies, and while the mother country attend^ to taxing the islands, it does not furnish any appropriations to promote their welfare. About 6ix years ago the stamp papers had annexed the islands to the United States so often that the subject became something of a joke to philatelic readers. It is hkelv that the expected will come to pass, and that the Danish West Indies will become a part of the United States and share in the pros- ■' peiity that Porto Rico is enjoying. Great Britain and colonies own 41.9 per cent, of the stamp-issuing .states of the world, past and present, and 38.2 per cent, of the prccnt stamp-issuing states. France ' comes nevt with 11.9 per cent, of the past and present and 15.3 per cent, of the present stamp-issuing states. Germany owne 1 8.7 per cent, of the past and present and I 4.9 per cent, of the present stamp-is6uing states. This falling off is due to 60 many of its states now using the general issues of the German Empire. A point which i% of considerable interest to stamp collectors will be found in the provision of the Rome Convention of 1907 that stamps of all values which are valid for the prepayment of postage on correspondence sent from one country of the Postal Union to another must, as from October 1, bear their values in Arabic numerals. This, if strictly carried out, will involve a new issue of stamps in all cases

in which the values are expressed in words. The first colony to take definite action in thio matter is Ceylon.

NEW ISSUES,

Cioatia (A 427). — We read a 6 follows in Gibbons" Stamp Weekly (November 23).--"Cioalia Demands Its Own Stamps. - Croatia is a titular kingdom of Hungary, and cxtcn<l« from the Adriatic to the K»\er Dia\e. The Croat race is small but haidy, and eone-eious of itself. Theie is a mo\ement on foot in Croatia in favour of a national postage stamp quite distinct from that u«ed in Hungary. The assistant secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Trade at Zagreb, otherwise known as Agram, tho capital of Croatia, has published a pamphlet to 6iiow that Cioatia has the right of issuing its own postage stamps. Of course, the leading Cioats are supporiing this claim. '' To this might be added that there ie a \ cry influential philatelic society at Agram. and that a very successful philatelic exhibition has just been held there; it is not difficult to see whcie the demand originated ! By the way, how do you pionounce "Croatia"'? We always say ■' Krosher," but we believe " Kroartior " would be nearer the mark. Unfortunately Mr Whitfield King's new pronouncing dictionary is silent on the subject. South Australia. — The 10s adhesive ha 3 been issued with large " Postage." Canada. — Mr J. Meier, writing to Der Philatelist (November 15) says that a 13cent stamp is to be issued here, on account of tho revised postal tariff. Ciete. — A new one drachma stamp ha 6 appeared with a group of British and other admirals receiving Prince Geoige of Greece on his arm al at Crete. It is one of tho most historically intrcsting of recent years.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

G. Wilcox. Hawkswood, writes: — "iha\e a 2-cent British North Borneo blue stamp with a reindeer's head on it. Could you please toll me if it is of any value?" — The North Borneo 2-cent stamp Ts catalogued at 2d in the latpot catalogue. — Peltjre.